Sopes are one of the most popular antojitos (snacks) in Mexico. These crispy masa cakes are slathered with refried beans and topped with fresh salsa, avocado, dairy-free queso, and so much more!
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📖 What are sopes?
Sopes (pronounced soh-pehs) are a type of thick corn tortilla made from masa harina, water, and salt. These tasty antojitos are one of the most delicious snacks you can find across Mexico.
Each sope is gently flattened and heated on a comal. Then, characteristic ridges are formed by pinching around the edges.
Most basic sope recipes are layered with refried beans, protein (like homemade chorizo or shredded chicken), vegetables, and salsas.
We love making sopes because they're budget-friendly, quick to make, and easy to customize.
Sopes are similar to picaditas, panuchos, garnachas, sopitos, or memelas. The differences mainly lie with the toppings, the size of the base, and the region they come from.
📜 History
Sopes come from the central and southern parts of Mexico, although no state in particular.
The popularity of sopes has grown over the years, and you can now find them sold at restaurants and street vendors all over. You can even buy pre-made sope bases at grocery stores!
🌱 Are sopes vegan?
Some recipes are made to be vegetarian, but sopes are generally not vegan. However, they can easily be transformed into a plant-based version!
Beans — If you're using store-bought, be careful to read the ingredients as some refried beans are made with lard.
Meat — Replace shredded chicken or beef with just beans or shredded jackfruit.
Queso — Instead of dairy-based queso fresco, use a dairy-free variety!
🛒 Ingredients & substitutions
Masa harina — For this sopes recipe, we went with white masa harina. You can use yellow, blue, or even pink varieties though.
Refried beans — You'd be hard-pressed to find many Mexican sopes without homemade refried beans on the bottom layer. To save time, you can also use store-bought pinto or black beans.
Sauces — The sauces are very customizable, but we really enjoy dairy-free Mexican crema, salsa fresca, salsa roja, salsa verde, or avocado cream sauce.
Queso — We usually crumble homemade queso fresco or cotija on top, but you can use store-bought vegan feta or parmesan too.
Extras — Tomatoes, shredded lettuce, pickled onions, pickled jalapeños, avocados, cilantro, and radishes all make tasty toppings.
For a complete ingredient list and step-by-step guide, scroll down to our recipe card.
📝 Instructions
Step 1 — Mix the masa harina, salt, and water to form a dough just as you would for corn tortilla making.
Step 2 — Knead the dough to form a ball that's sticky enough to stay together, but not sticking to your hands too much. Keep mixing and pressing with your palm for a few minutes.
Step 3 — Break off pieces of dough to form small balls about the size of a golf ball. You should get about 9-10 sopes out of this recipe, but you can make more if you're wanting one-bite sopes.
Step 4 — If you have a tortilla press, line it with 2 pieces of a zip lock bag or wax paper. Open the press and place a ball of dough in the center.
Step 5 — Place the other plastic piece on top and close the press down quite gently to form thick tortillas about ¼-inch.
Note — If you don't have a tortilla press, place the dough balls between the same 2 pieces of plastic on your counter and press down with a flat baking dish or plate.
Step 6 — Heat a cast-iron skillet up to medium. Then, add a sope in and cook on the first side for 60-70 seconds. Flip and cook for another 60-90 seconds, or until brown spots are forming and it's puffing slightly.
Step 7 — Remove the sope from heat and let it rest while you cook the rest. After 30-60 seconds, pull a little dough from the inner portion of the cooked sope and pinch it out to the edge to form a ridge all the way around.
Step 8 — Cover the sopes with a tea towel, and repeat this process until they're all cooked.
Step 9 — Shallow fry each sope for about 30 seconds on both sides, or until they turn a light gold color.
Step 10 — Transfer the sopes to a paper towel-lined plate to get rid of any excess oil.
Step 11 — First, add refried beans as the bottom layer of your sopes.
Step 12 — Top the beans with garnishes like salsa fresca, avocado, vegan queso fresco, vegan Mexican crema, chorizo, lime wedges, hot sauce, lettuce, etc. Happy eating!
If you have questions about how to make sopes, check out our FAQs or leave a comment down below!
🥗 What to serve with sopes
Sopes make a great appetizer to serve before any of these main dishes:
Caldo de res — Chunky vegetable "beef" soup.
Caldo de albóndigas — Black bean meatballs served in a spicy broth.
Sopa de tortilla — Chile broth served over crispy strips of corn tortillas.
Enchiladas rojas — Red enchiladas filled with jackfruit and queso fresco.
🍽️ How to eat sopes
As with most Mexican antojitos, sopes are meant to be eaten with your hands. Just pick it up and eat it like you would a slice of pizza or toast.
If you're worried about getting messy, you can always use a fork and knife.
🌡️ Storage & reheating
We don't recommend storing sopes fully dressed in your fridge or freezer. These instructions are for how to store the bases:
Keep warm — Once the sopes are cooked and pinched, cover them with a tea towel to keep warm.
Fridge — Sopes last in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. If you don't plan on serving them during that time, we recommend freezing them right away.
Freezer — Store in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 6-8 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight prior to using them.
Reheating — Fry sopes on medium heat for 20-30 seconds per side. If you prefer these oil-free, heat each side on a dry skillet or comal.
Make-ahead — Just like tortillas, sopes are great to make ahead of time so you can whip them up when you're in a pinch.
Note: If possible, store your sopes prior to frying them in oil for better storage and reheating.
♻️ Variations
Carnitas — Load your sopes with "meaty" jackfruit carnitas for a heartier version.
Chorizo — For more protein, top your sopes with plant-based chorizo.
Oil-free— Try making your sopes oil-free by cooking them on a dry skillet or in your oven instead of frying.
Bite-sized — Make your sopes bite-sized by portioning the dough into 14-16 pieces instead of 9-10.
🧑🍳 Top tips
Use cast iron — A cast-iron skillet or comal provides a better char and smoky flavor to the sopes. Use one if you can!
Don't over-flatten — Sopes are supposed to be thicker than tortillas, so don't press down too hard. If you do, just roll it up and try again.
The dough consistency — Depending on the climate you live in, you may need to add more or less water to your masa harina to achieve the right texture. It should be moist, but not sticking to your hands too much.
Press the sopes — When you flip the sopes to the second side, press on them with a spatula to help them evenly cook in the middle.
Don't burn your hands — The sopes need to be warm when you pinch them (otherwise the dough sets). To prevent burning your fingers, you can use a towel while completing this step.
💬 FAQ
Since sopes can be made in so many different ways, the term "sope" usually refers to the corn base.
It all depends on the toppings you choose. But, this particular recipe is gluten-free.
Sopes and gorditas are very similar. Gorditas are sliced and filled like a pita. Sopes are topped like pizza or flatbread.
📋 Recipe
Best Sopes Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Cast-iron skillet
- Tortilla warmer or towel
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina ($0.25)
- 1 ½ cups warm water ($0.01)
- ¼ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- 1-1 ½ cups refried beans ($0.78)
To serve optional
- Neutral oil for frying
- Vegan queso fresco
- Salsa fresca
- Vegan Mexican crema
- Pickled jalapeños
- Vegan chorizo
- Jackfruit carnitas
- Avocado cubes
- Lime wedges
Instructions
Dough
- Add the masa harina and salt to a large bowl and whisk. Then, pour in 1 ½ cups of warm water and mix together with your hands.
- Knead the dough to form a ball that's sticky enough to stay together, but not coming off on your hands too much. Keep mixing and pressing with your palm for a few minutes.
- If the dough appears too crumbly, add a tablespoon of water at a time until the texture resembles play-dough. If it becomes too sticky, add in a little more masa harina.
Rolling
- Break off pieces of the masa to form small balls (about 60-65 grams each, or the size of a golf ball). Roll each piece of dough in between your palms until smooth. Cover them with a tea towel on your counter or a cutting board.
Pressing
- If you have a tortilla press, cut a zip lock bag or wax paper into 2 pieces that will fit into the press (one for each side of the sope).
- Open the press and place a ball of dough in the center on a piece of plastic. Place the other piece on top and close the press down quite gently to form tortillas about ¼-inch thick.
- If you don't have a tortilla press, place your ball of dough between the same 2 pieces of plastic on your counter. Press the dough down with the bottom of a baking dish or flat plate.
Cooking
- Preheat a cast-iron skillet up to medium. Then, add a sope in and cook on the first side for 60-70 seconds. Flip and cook for another 60-90 seconds, or until brown spots are forming and it's puffing slightly.
- Remove from heat and let rest while you add in the next batch of sopes. After about 30-60 seconds, pull a little dough from the inner portion of the cooked sope out to the edge with your thumb and index finger. Do this all the way around to form a ridge. Cover the sopes with a tea towel, and repeat this process with the rest.
Serving
- Heat about a ¼ cup of neutral oil in the same skillet over medium. Fry each sope on both sides for about 30 seconds, or until they are light gold in color. Remove from heat and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to get rid of any excess oil.
- Serve your sopes with a layer of refried beans on the bottom. Top them with optional garnishes like salsa fresca, avocado, vegan queso fresco, vegan Mexican crema, cilantro, lime juice, or hot sauce. Happy eating!
Video
Notes
- Use cast iron — A cast-iron skillet or comal provides a better char and smoky flavor to the sopes. Use one if you can!
- Don't over-flatten — Sopes are supposed to be thicker than tortillas, so don't press down too hard. If you do, just roll it up and try again.
- The dough consistency — Depending on the climate you live in, you may need to add more or less water to your masa harina to achieve the right texture. It should be moist, but not sticking to your hands too much.
- Press the sopes — When you flip the sopes to the second side, press on them with a spatula to help them evenly cook in the middle.
- Don't burn your hands — The sopes need to be warm when you pinch them (otherwise the dough sets). To prevent burning your fingers, you can use a towel while completing this step.
- Optional ingredients are not reflected in the price or calories of our recipes.
- We calculate nutritional information for our recipes with Cronometer. Calories are for 1 sope plus a generous dollop of refried beans.
- Recipe cost calculations are based on ingredients local to us and may vary from recipe to recipe. All prices are in USD.
Nutrition
🍴 Similar recipes
If you enjoyed making and eating these sopes, check out some of our other favorites:
- Crispy black bean tacos: An easy weekday taco filled with a black bean mixture.
- Enchiladas verdes: Green enchiladas stuffed with beans and cheese.
- Empanadas: Mexican empanadas made with corn dough instead of flour.
- Quesabirria tacos: Saucy tortillas filled with oyster mushrooms and plant-based cheese.
- Tamales: Another popular Mexican antojito served in corn husks.
Note: We've updated this post to include new information and helpful tips about the recipe.
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